It’s Not You, It’s Me

Ever since I started my business three years ago, I’ve worked from home. The convenience and flexibility are so enjoyable that I get nightmares about having to go to work in an office.  Working from home does have one major drawback: distractions. They pop up not so much from boredom, but minor anxiety. Worry creeps in when I don’t know how to do something, and to cope with it, I instinctively reach for my phone and login into Facebook. Rather than facing the issue head on, I retreat, looking for an outlet for reprieve. I’ve noticed it as I’ve been writing this post. I don’t know the exact words to use and worry that it’ll be perceived negatively, so I shy away and look for something else to fill my time. Maybe that’s the root cause I should address. That’s for another post…

I Was  Addicted To Facebook

Social media sites are meant to be addictive. They are a constant dopamine drip of information and methodically timed notifications. Since you don’t pay for use, these platforms make money from advertisements. The longer you use the service, the more advertisements you see, the more money they make. This isn’t unique to Facebook – Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit all rely on similar models. They had me hooked. A quick browse of Facebook could turn into a 30 minute internet excursion, with little or no value returned at the end.

How I Quit My Facebook Addiction

It was a multi-tiered approach, each step designed to fix the problem, but ultimately requiring further action. First, I removed the Facebook app from my phone. This worked initially, but then I started going to the mobile website. Next, I unfollowed people who posted frequently. That didn’t work either, as Facebook just fills the feed with things people liked, were tagged in, or commented on. Finally, I unfollowed everyone. What I’m left with is a dated version of Facebook, what it was like before the news feed feature was introduced.

Let Me Tell You, It’s Far Less Addictive

The blank new feed means I have to actively search information out, instead of passively absorbing it. Facebook is now just a directory of people and events rather than a sea of mindless entertainment. It’s worked out great. For the first couple of weeks, I still instinctively went to Facebook, even when there was nothing to see. I had built up a Pavlovian response to the feeling of anxiety. That reaction has since subsided. Now I only use Facebook to catch up on specific people’s lives. It’s a much more targeted use, and has saved me a significant amount of time. Unfollowing everyone has turned out to be the cure for my Facebook addiction.

Why?

I take immense gratification from making things. Taking an idea from my mind and creating it with my hands brings me a lot of joy. When we were searching for a house, my one stipulation was that it had an area for my workshop. The house we settled on fit the bill with a partially unfinished basement (plus, it was the only basement I could stand up in).

Let Me Give You A Tour

Workbenches

My father and I created these workbenches from 2×4’s and MDF.  The floor isn’t level and the walls aren’t square, which made building these difficult. The second level of the workbenches is 3 inches off the ground, good for cleaning underneath and in case of water in the basement.

Bike Stand

One of my goals is to learn to do all my bike maintenance. A bike stand is a necessity for for most cleaning and repair as it brings the bike to a workable height and allows spinning the gears to verify proper operation.

Video Background & Lighting

I projected, traced, and painted the below image to serve as a background for Lethal Engineering videos. I also installed fluorescent light fixtures to improve video quality. Despite having a degree in Electronics Engineering, I’d never wired up 120VAC before. I only shocked myself once!

Tools

I have almost all the tools I could want including drills, a table saw, drill press, miter saw, jig saw, circular saw, reciprocating saw (sawzall), metal chop saw, air compressor, nail guns, dremel tool, power sander, plus a myriad of hand tools. I also recently got a 3D printer and have been working on the Kylo Ren helmet pictured below.

Storage Racks / Tool Chests / Wood Racks

I’m committed to keeping my shop organized and functional. I added two wire racks to fill the dead space behind the water heater and furnace. Clear plastic bins fit on those racks perfectly and are great for storage of seldom used supplies. The wood racks were easy to install and keep all the lumber out of the way. The toolboxes house all the hand tools.

Get Building

I’m really pleased with how my workshop turned out. It’s the perfect size right now, assuming I don’t acquire any more tools. Now it’s time to make things! I’ve got a host of ideas that I hope to turn into videos in the next six months.

I Acquired A Kindle Unintentionally

It was meant as a Christmas gift for a girl I was dating at the time. She broke up with me right before Christmas and I kept the Kindle. I had no idea the impact it would have on my life.

Reading Has Never Been Easier

The main benefit of the Kindle is that it makes reading hassle free. I find a book on Amazon, one click  to ‘buy now’, and it’s automatically downloaded to my Kindle and the Kindle app on my smart phone. Now I read before I go to bed, in line at Chipotle, or when I sit on the commode. I also use Audible to listen to audio books in the car and while I exercise (anytime I would normally listen to music).

All that time adds up. Over the last five years I’ve completed 20 to 30 thirty books a year through intermittent spurts of reading, far eclipsing my one or two book average in the years prior. Reading has become a daily habit that has taken the place of television. I feel as if I’ve replaced smoking with exercise. Let me explain why I believe that analogy is appropriate.

That Best Scene in One of the Greatest Movies

Good Will Hunting, the Harvard Bar Scene. In case you don’t remember it:

“You dropped 150 grand on a fuckin’ education you could have got for a dollar-fifty in late charges at the public library.”

And that’s what I found the more I read.  There’s a vast wealth of information for little to no cost. How come nobody told me about this sooner? They bribed me with pizza in the third grade (Remember Book-It?). Other than that, I didn’t read growing up. That changed when I got a Kindle. I discovered that this is where all the great ideas had been hiding. All inexpensive and easily accessible.

Thoughts From The Most Successful People

Reading allows me to pick the brains of some of the greatest minds that have ever lived. If Benjamin Franklin offered to stop by for coffee and a chat, would I do it? Of course! That’s not very plausible, because he’s dead and all, but I can read his autobiography. Same for Sam Walton (founder Wal-Mart), Ray Kroc (founder McDonald’s), Malcom X, and many more. It’s unlikely that I’ll become good friends with billionaire Richard Branson, but reading his memoirs I gain insight that would only be had from very deep conversations.

I Can Attribute Major Events In My Life To Reading

Here are a few examples:

The Success Principles – the book that exposed me to the whole “self-improvement” genre, taking 100% responsibility for the outcomes in my life
Born to Run – I signed up for and then ultimately  ran a 100 mile ultramarathon
The 4 Hour Workweek – I quit my job and started a business
Goals: How To Get Everything You Want – Wrote down my list of goals, went after them
I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Paid off all my credit cards, got more aggressive with my savings

Everybody Is Doing It

Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, the Dalai Lama, and Elon Musk  are all prolific readers. Warren Buffet read every book on investing in the Omaha Public Library by age 12. Bill Gates said if he could have one superpower, it would be to read faster. Elon Musk read textbooks about rocket propulsion in order to start SpaceX.

Goal #26: Read 20 Books

I feel as if I’m just scratching the surface with reading. My Kindle is full of purchased, but unread books. My goal for reading this year is 20 books, and I’m behind on that goal. As valuable as I find reading to be, I don’t set aside enough time to do it. That needs to change.

The Commitment Contract

I mentioned in my 28 Before 28 Results post how using a commitment contract forced me to develop consistency in achieving my goals. The threat of losing money was motivating enough for me to swim, bike, and run everyday for several weeks in a row. This year, for my 29 list, I will begin implementing the commitment contract right away. Below is a list of every goal along with either a starting date or deadline as well as a penalty for failure.

Health

1. Eat Four Servings Vegetables for 200 Days | Everyday Starting  9/11/17
   
2. Drink 10 Cups of Water for 200 Days | Everyday Starting 10/2/17
   
3. Eat Four Servings Fruit for 200 Days | Everyday Starting 9/25/17
   
4. Meditate for 200 Days | Everyday Starting 10/16/17
   

I will complete goals 1 through 4 everyday after their respective starting dates. Each missed day will be a $50 fine

Triathlon

5. Bike 5,000 Miles | Starting 7/17/2017
   
6. Run 1,000 Miles | Starting 7/31/2017
   
7. Swim 500,000 Yards \ Starting 8/14/2017
   
8. Weight Training 50 times | Starting 11/4/17
   
9. Flexibility: Be Able To Touch Toes | Deadline: 5/1/2018
   
10. Learn To Do All Bike Maintenance | Deadline: 6/1/2018

For goals 5 through 8, I will have to complete the average number of remaining yards, mile, or workouts everyday (or week in the case of #8). The penalty will be $50 for each day missed after the starting date. Days can be skipped if I am ahead of goal pace.  The penalty for missing the deadline for goals 9 and 10 will be $100

Lethal Engineering / Lethal Tri

11. Ultimate Computer Setup Video | Deadline 9/1/17
    
12. Solar Death Ray Video | Deadline 10/1/17
    
13. Halloween Video | Deadline 11/1/17
14. Quadcopter Build Video | Deadline 5/1/18
    
15. 20 Blog Posts | Deadline: 10 By 1/1/18, 20 by 6/25/18
    
16. One LethalTri Video | Deadline: 4/1/18
    
17. Finish Workshop | Deadline: 8/1/17
    

Any missed deadline in this category will be a one-time $250 fine

Business

18. Produce 250 ‘Units’ of Work. | Starting 7/24/16
    
19. Pursue Two Railroads For Additional Business \ Deadline: 1st Railroad by 1/1/18, 2nd by 6/25/18
    
20. 30 Hours of Studying To Increase Railroad Knowledge | Deadline: 15 hours by 1/1/18, 30 by 6/25/18
    
21. Train One Other Person for Checking Responsibilities | Deadline 6/25/18
    

Any missed deadline for goals 19-21 will carry a one-time $250 fine.  Goal number 18 will be on the same everyday penalty system as my triathlon goals, where I will be required to complete the average amount of work daily unless I’m ahead of schedule

Adventure

22. Bike The Entire Cowboy Trail or Wabash Trace | Deadline: 11/1/17
    
23. Learn Song On Piano and Play In Public | Deadline 6/1/18
    
24. See a Rocket Launch in Person | Deadline 6/25/18
    

$200 fine for any missed deadline in this category.

Other

25. One MIT Open Courseware Course | Deadline: 2/1/18
    
26. Read 20 Books | Deadline: 10 by 1/1/18, 20 by 6/25/18
    
27. Net Worth > $100,000 | Deadline 6/25/18
    
28. Track Goals Daily for 200 Days | Everyday Starting  12/11/17
    
29. Review Goals Daily for 200 Days | Everyday Starting 12/4/17
    

$100 fine for missing the deadlines for goals 25 to 27 and a $25 per day fine for missing a day tracking or review goals after the start date.

The Reward

I’m not a fancy dresser by any means, but have an affinity for flashy shoes. If I accomplish at least 20 of the 29 goals, then I will purchase myself these:

They are called Jeremy Scott Wings 3.0 Gold, but that’s only because J.K. Rowling would claim copyright violations if they were called ‘Golden Snitch’ shoes. They have no utilitarian value but have an astronomical price tag. I can’t find a pair in my size online and the other sizes carry a price tag equivalent to our mortgage payment.

That’s why they are the reward if I accomplish 20 of these tasks. I’ve got some inexplicable yearning for these shoes, but would never purchase them otherwise. Since I’ve started making these lists, I’ve never accomplished more than seven goals in a single year. This ostentatious footwear will serve as the proverbial carrot.

The Taskmaster

This is my friend Matt:

I’ve recruited Matt to hold me accountable to my commitment contract. He will be responsible for verifying my progress, settling any grey areas, and will also be the beneficiary of all the monetary fines. He has a good ratio of supportive and dickish qualities to provide not only encouragement but enforcement.  He also does a great dragon pose.

Two Options

This will either be an extremely successful or extremely expensive year. Creating the goals and contract is the easy part, obtaining them will be far more difficult but worthwhile.

It Started With A Text Message

Through endurance sports you meet some interesting folks, like my friend Matt Brand, who one time paid someone to shove a tube up his butt and flush all the poop out of his colon. Seriously.

Matt recommended a podcast by this vegan-hippie-ultrarunner Rich Roll (not to be confused with his arch nemesis Rick). In this episode, Rich interviewed former Navy SEAL David Goggins. The story is nucking futs. You should really check it out, but if not…

Here’s The Cliff Notes Version

Goggins is bullied growing up, a black kid in an all white school. Post high school, he joins the Air Force and a couple years later applies to join Navy SEALs, but weighs too much. Goggins drops 100 pounds in 2 months and is admitted to the SEAL’s BUD/S training. Due to injury and illness, he has to repeat ‘Hell Week’ three times but eventually passes BUD/S and becomes a Navy SEAL.

A couple years later, Goggins learns of a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in which six of his fellow SEALs are killed. Goggins decides he’s going to raise money for the families of the fallen soldiers by completing the 10 toughest endurance events on the planet. First on the list is the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135 mile foot race starting in Death Valley and ending at Mt. Whitney. Goggins calls up the race director, who says Goggins must complete a 100 mile ultramarathon to even sign up for Badwater.

Four days later, with zero training, Goggins is at the start line of a 24 hour ultramarathon. 70 miles in, he’s in bad shape. He’s broken all the small bones in his feet and is pissing blood from kidney failure. He guts out the last 30 miles to finish the race. Goggins goes on to complete the Badwater 135 along with numerous other ultra endurance events including the Hurt 100, Ultraman, Western States 100, and Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc. He also set the world record for most pull-ups in 24 hours.

I Was Blown Away By This Story

The mindset and attitude Goggins possesses is incredible. He decides to do something and then does whatever it takes to accomplish it. No excuses, no quitting. That insane grit and mental toughness are attributes I’d like to develop for myself

I Did Something Stupid

Three years ago, I completed a GORUCK challenge with my friend Matt Brand (the one flushing his poop out from earlier in this blog post). The event was 12 hours long, but my muscles burned from all the lunges and pushups for the next two weeks. I swore I’d never do an event like that again, until I listened to that David Goggins Podcast.

I signed up for GORUCK Selection, a 48 hour endurance test covering 80+ miles with endless amounts of PT. They tout it as the hardest endurance event in the world with an abysmal finish rate of less than 5%.

It starts with a PT Test with a minimum standard of 55 pushups in less than 2 minutes, 65 situps in less than 2 minutes, a 5 Mile Run in less than 40 minutes, and a 12 Mile Ruck (with your 45 pound backpack) in less than 3.5 hours. Fail any of those and you’re immediately dropped. And that’s just the beginning. Selection is meant to simulate ‘hell week’ and is run by former special operations guys who are trying to get you to quit. Ultimately it’s not a fitness contest. It’s mental. Very few people are pulled from the event for performance. A majority decide to quit.

So Why Would You Do It?

I’ve been growing soft and complacent, lacking discipline and consistency. I hope that by training for an event like this, which is far outside of my current capabilities, I will develop those traits.

A couple months back, I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin which will be held on September 10th, 2017. Now that we live in Milwaukee, this race is way too convenient to pass up.

I’ve got one goal for this race which is to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. In order to do that, I’ll have to place top 3 in my age group, which will require a time in the neighborhood of 9 hours 30 minutes. That time is significantly faster than my two previous Ironman finishes of 10:52 (2013 Ironman Arizona) and 14:10 (2016 Ironman Brazil). Wisconsin is also a hillier, and therefore slower, course.

Goal Times

I’ve broken that goal time down for each specific event:

Swim: 0:55 (1:18 / 100 yards)
T1: 0:05
Bike: 5:10 (21.7 MPH)
T2: 0:05
Run: 3:15 (7:26 min / mile)
Total: 9:30

Miles Make Champions

That level of  performance will require a significant commitment as it is far above my current abilities. The plan is to run, bike, and swim on the order of 20 to 25 hours a week, swimming 20,000 yards, biking 200 miles, and running 40 miles.

Bike: I registered for trainer road which has very structured power based workout that are done on the trainer. This is especially beneficial during these winter months when it’s  bitterly cold outside

Running: Follow the Jack Daniels training plans. No seriously, the guy’s name is Jack Daniels. I don’t think they know each other.

Swimming: Swim everyday focusing on technique and also utilize underwater video to spot deficiencies in my stroke. I’ve also joined a triathlon based swim group that meets twice a week.

As of today, registration is still open for anyone who would like to participate in Ironman Wisconsin! I’ve also signed up for the LA Marathon March 19th and the Half Ironman in Madison on June 19th.